Terrifying Movies Based on True Events

The most terrifying films are often those that are firmly rooted in reality. When audiences see characters they can identify with having their world upended by forces beyond their control, they recognize their own vulnerability – “what if these events were to happen to me?”

Unlike most fictional films, terrifying movies based on true events are no make believe — and moviegoers can’t pretend they are. There is no escape from the fact that they’re witnessing events that actually happened – at least to some extent.

24/7 Wall St. has identified 40 of the most terrifying movies based on true events. These films portray the strange, dark, and dangerous chain of events that happened to real people, put on the silver screen as a way to share the experience.